Italy, Busitalia Veneto deploys 19 new electric buses in Rovigo under €9.88m Italian and EU-funded programme

Busitalia Veneto has placed 19 new battery-electric buses into service in Rovigo, a city in northeast Italy located between Padua and Ferrara, as part of a €9.88 million investment combining EU recovery funds and national sustainable-mobility resources.

With this electric bus rollout, Rovigo now operates 25 electric urban buses (all Iveco Bus‘ branded), consolidating the displacement of diesel on city routes. The urban electrification programme is complemented by the introduction, in 2025, of 16 hybrid interurban buses and by an approved plan for 12 further battery-electric interurban units over the coming years.

Electric buses in Rovigo, by Busitalia

The deployment reinforces the region’s strategy to convert smaller provincial cities into early adopters of zero-emission public transport. Busitalia Veneto, the regional subsidiary of Trenitalia within Italy’s FS Group (parent group of Dutch Qbuzz), has acted as the project integrator in Rovigo, overseeing procurement, fleet specification, and the realization of depot infrastructure.

The investment is structured around two financing lines. The first, supported by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), covers €4.3 million for eight 12-metre electric buses and related onboard systems, with over €4 million granted directly through PNRR capital dedicated to decarbonising local mobility. The second line draws on the National Strategic Plan for Sustainable Mobility (PSNMS) and allocates €5.57 million for eleven additional electric buses—eight 9.5-metre units and three more 12-metre vehicles—specifically targeting cities classified as high-pollution areas. Busitalia Veneto provided a co-financing share of just under €500,000 for the overall fleet programme.

A key component of the programme is the complete renewal of the Petrarca depot, now equipped for full electric operations. The site features a 2 MW charging installation and 30 dedicated charging points, enabling simultaneous overnight charging for the entire electric fleet. The €2.65 million depot upgrade—funded entirely through PNRR and PSNMS—provides the backbone for Busitalia Veneto’s operational shift from mixed-technology to predominantly zero-emission urban services. The fleet comprises Iveco E-Way buses: 17 units in 12-metre configuration and eight in 9.5-metre format, each offering up to 300 km range.

Flavio Nogara, President of Busitalia: “The investment in electric mobility in Rovigo is a concrete sign of a commitment we share with local institutions: to make public transport a driver of sustainable development, improving quality of life and supporting the area through a responsible path of modernization. It is a forward-looking choice that reinforces the central role of collective mobility.”

Gino Colella, CEO and General Manager of Busitalia Veneto: “The new electric buses, together with the complete renovation of the Via Petrarca depot and the upgrade of the interurban fleet with hybrid vehicles, provide a mix of technologies enabling high performance and a significant reduction in environmental impact. They represent a decisive step in the modernization and sustainability of public transport in Rovigo. Thanks to substantial investments and effective cooperation with the municipality, we can now rely on state-of-the-art vehicles and infrastructure capable of improving service quality and the urban environment.”